Glossary: The Language of Prior Learning Assessment

Advisor

As a Marylhurst student you are assigned an academic advisor with whom you plan and monitor your academic degree program. This advisor is sometimes, but not always, the Chair of your academic department.

APA Style

As opposed to MLA style, APA style is the American Psychological Association format for citation of quotations, paraphrased information and any other ideas or material learned from another source. PLA essays are considered academic essays, and students need to acknowledge their intellectual sources in a recognizable format. Considered by many to be the "easier" style, APA is used primarily by those students majoring in the social sciences, business and communication.

Catalog

The Marylhurst University catalog comes out every two years and specifies all degree requirements and academic policies for students admitted during this two-year time frame. It also gives course descriptions for all required courses in each major.

Chronolog

A chronolog is an analysis of one's experience from which learning is discriminated, written in a chronological pattern. This is the major assignment in LRN 150, the preliminary class in the Prior Learning Assessment process.

College-Level Learning

The Prior Learning Assessment program awards credit for learning that is equivalent to that taught in college-level courses.

Competencies

Part of the index of learning for an essay written for one's PLA Portfolio, competencies are these clear statements describing behaviors, skills, knowledge and capabilities that assert mastery of various aspects of a subject. Competency statements are positive assertions of learning and are always written in the present tense.

Course Equivalency Model

Marylhurst awards PLA credit for learning that is roughly equivalent to the content of actual college-level courses. For example, you won't receive credit in Communication; rather, you will receive credit in a course such as Public Speaking or Interpersonal Communication.

Credit Rationale

Every PLA submission includes a brief argument proposing equivalency between the student's learning and an actual college course. This narrative includes a complete course number, course title and description, college of origin and catalog date.

Degree Program

The program established with advisor approval leading to the bachelor's degree goal selected by the student.

Documentation

Direct or indirect evidence validating the skills and knowledge discussed in the PLA submission.

Education Degree Plan (EDP)

The EDP is a summary of the college credits earned and still needed within a student's degree program drawn up by the student's advisor.

Essay

The second and central part of most PLA submissions, the essay is an orderly written account of the student's mastery of a subject. The essay consists of five parts: the introduction, the quantified sources of learning, the expository discussion of competencies, the conclusion and the credit rationale or statement of course equivalency.

Evaluator

An expert selected by the college to review PLA submissions for appropriate content, documentation and credit rationale. The evaluator recommends credit awards to the PLA instructor. Evaluators have two essential qualifications: they have the appropriate advanced degree and know how subjects are presented within the academic world; they also have worked in their field and know the ways theory does, and sometimes does not, work in practice.

Extension Term

The last term a student is involved in the PLA process. This term is free of charge. The final portfolio must be turned in before the end of this term. In practice, this means all new PLA submissions must be completed by mid-term to allow time for the evaluation process and for compiling the final portfolio.

Final Portfolio

The complete PLA portfolio submitted to the Learning Assessment Center with clean copies of all PLA submissions, petition and release forms, and advisor's current education degree plan.

Goal Statement

A statement describing your personal, professional and academic goals. This document, written in LRN 150, becomes the opening statement in completed PLA portfolios.

Index of Learning

The overview, or outline, of each PLA submission presented to the evaluator. The index of learning has four parts: academic area, competencies, sources of learning and documentation. All PLA submissions have an index of learning, even those without documentation or without essays. Students learn how to write Indexes of Learning in the second course in the PLA sequence, LRN 305, the Prior Learning Assessment Seminar: From Experience to Learning.

Learning Assessment Center

The department at Marylhurst University that houses the Prior Learning Assessment program. We are located on the second floor at the south end of the B.P. John Administration Building. If you are on campus, come by and see us! Our telephone number is 503.699.6260 or toll-free: 800.634.9982, extension 6260.

Lower Division

Level of college credit, as opposed to upper division. Lower division credit (generally numbered between 100 and 299) is assigned to coursework ordinarily taken by freshmen and sophomores.

MLA Style

As opposed to APA style, MLA style is the Modern Language Association format for citation of quotations, paraphrased information and any other ideas or material learned from another source. PLA essays are considered academic essays, and students need to acknowledge their intellectual sources in a recognizable format. The MLA style is used primarily by those students majoring in the humanities, religion or philosophy.

PLA

Prior Learning Assessment.

PLA Portfolio

The finished product in the Prior Learning Assessment Program is a notebook, or portfolio, containing all your PLA submissions, documentation and the accompanying forms formally requesting that PLA credit be awarded.

Portfolio Plan

The Portfolio Plan is a map for your PLA project identifying the specific academic courses that will be the focus of your PLA submissions. Students learn how to put together a portfolio plan in the second course in the PLA sequence, LRN 305, the Prior Learning Assessment Seminar: From Experience to Learning.

Schedule of Courses

The Schedule of Courses is published every term (four times a year). It gives course descriptions for all courses taught at Marylhurst University in the current term. It often includes new courses not listed in the catalog.

Submission

The complete package presented as evidence for the credit worthiness of out-of-classroom learning in one academic area. Each submission has three parts: an index of learning, an essay and documentation.

Upper Division

Level of college credit, as opposed to lower division. Upper division credit (generally numbered between 300 and 499) is assigned to courses ordinarily taken by juniors and seniors.